Review: The Boy Who Steals Houses

The Boy Who Steals Houses by C.G. Drews
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is a heart-rending novel about family, broken pieces and redemption.

15 year old Sam just wants to take care of his older brother, Avery. Avery is autistic and needs routine, but that's hard to give when the only time Sam feels safe is when he's under a stolen roof.

If you've yet to read the author's debut, A Thousand Perfect Notes, well done you for protecting your heart for so long. If you survived that one, your scarred heart might just be tough enough to get through this one without breaking. Good luck though. I recommend extra bubble wrap for protection.

This is my third beautiful disaster in a row (following Sadie and Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine) and honestly my poor lil heart needs a time out. It would be a quivering mess of uselessness if it wasn't for the De Laineys and their chaotic love. I desperately needed the light they brought to Sam's story.

Unlike the previous two books, this is a disaster I thoroughly enjoyed reading. Because the themes of love and devotion and family are so close to my heart and Sam is a dude I can really relate to. I mean, not so much the homelessness and the breaking into houses and looking after an autistic brother and stuff ... more just, like, the dedication. Family first. But he's a 15 year old kid dealing with things he should never have to deal with and I just felt so much for him. He deserved a little sunshine and to be loved and the happy accident of stumbling across the De Laineys was a refreshing blast of joy in a gloomy grey story and the balance was perfect.

This is also a really important book for Autism representation because it continues to remind the reader that Avery is not broken. Autism is not a passing illness, it's not a defect ... this book reps HARD and it was just written so respectfully while still facing the reality of how viciously autism can be viewed by ignorant members of society. Avery is a character you will find it hard not to fall in love with.

As with the author's previous novel, there's violence in here that will break your heart but there's a message within it:

"You can do monstrous things and not be a monster."

This is a novel about choices; about good, bad, and all the shades of grey that lie in between. This is a novel not afraid to face ugliness so that you can also appreciate the beauty when it's there. It's about mistakes, and choices, and the lengths we go to for family.

Loved it from start to finish, and highly recommend to anyone brave enough to offer their heart up for a thorough drenching in emotions.

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